Daily Grail Publishing’s Darklore 7 was released today, and in it you’ll find my contribution, and updated and revised version of my eBook, The Origins of the Space Gods. (Be sure to pick up a copy today!) But more importantly, now that the book is out I can reveal the identity of the alternative archaeologist who has openly embraced the reality of magic powers. It’s Robert M. Schoch, the geologist at the non-credit-bearing Boston University learning annex who attempted to re-date the Sphinx by five thousand years. Schoch, who uses his scientific credentials to lend an air of believability to his alternative history claims, now advocates a worldview that negates science. [Update: I have been talking with Dr. Schoch about this, and he explained how he sees his views as compatible with science. I will be posting on this when we have concluded our conversation.] In his Darklore 7 article, “The Enigmatic Doctor Dee,” Schoch discusses the work of Dr. John Dee, the court astrologer to Elizabeth I. Dee, Schoch claims, had genuine supernatural powers and consorted with real demons:
(Lest you think Schoch’s wording gets him off the hook by suggesting the demons were all in Dee’s head, the rest of the article makes plain that he attributes external reality to them, related in some obscure manner to “parapsychology and psychical research.”)
This is beyond extraordinary. Schoch, a scientist, claims that there are demons, that magic is real, and that supernatural powers can be used to effect change in the material world. How can Schoch logically claim to re-date the Sphinx based on materialist science while simultaneously claiming that magic and demons have the power to change the physical properties of matter? It makes my head hurt. Schoch had previously expressed interest in parapsychology, but ostensibly from a scientific perspective, rather than a mystical one. I can’t see how Schoch can possibly hold his position on the Sphinx re-dating when anyone could simply argue back to him that demons or sorcerers simply made it look old by casting a spell on it. After all, the ancient myths and legends, especially those of the medieval Arabs, imagined the Sphinx as a locus of demonic energy, and even a monument carved by the devil. What right have we to doubt the “ancient texts” now that demons and magic are admitted to be real?
5 Comments
Jim
10/11/2012 07:06:40 am
He was my guess on your 9-24-2012 post http://www.jasoncolavito.com/1/post/2012/09/alternative-archaeologist-to-endorse-reality-of-magic-paranormal-and-devils.html.
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10/11/2012 07:30:38 am
You do win, but sadly, the prize must be claimed by a demon wielding magic powers.
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Jim
10/11/2012 07:43:40 am
I've been trying to summon an Old One from the Necronomicon to claim my prize for almost 10 minutes now, but to no avail... do the rituals work if my sigils are drawn in crayon?
terry the censor
10/14/2012 01:31:32 pm
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7/12/2020 02:41:19 pm
Just a minor point, but Dee neither claimed supernatural powers of any kind (like many of his ilk astrological forecasts were considered pragmatic scientific calculations) or contacted spirits directly himself. He engaged professional 'scryers' (most notably the infamous Edward Kelley) to contact the angelic spirits. He may have used his deep scholarship and command of languages to put the supposed angelic language of Enochian on a more logically solid grammatical foundation but Kelley's own occult background as a professional necromancer while more limited in scope was probably the source for most of the actual text.
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AuthorI am an author and researcher focusing on pop culture, science, and history. Bylines: New Republic, Esquire, Slate, etc. There's more about me in the About Jason tab. Newsletters
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